Checkmate
by Heero De Fanel
Summary: The most interesting things can happen over a game of chess, as Riana and Elwin will find out. ElwinRiana fic... not really PG-13, but rated just in case. Please R&R guys!


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Checkmate

Legal Crap – I don't own Langrisser, or the characters within. Or chess, for that matter. Riana and Elwin will seem somewhat OOC, but I could honestly see them having this type of rapid paced dialogue once they loosened up around each other.

* * *

"I really don't get the point of this game," a light haired teenager murmured, as she focused her gaze on a wooden board ahead of her, with various porcelain pieces on it. Across from her, a red haired youth smirked.

"That's because you keep losing," he said, confidence in his voice. The girl glared at him.

"Is the only reason you taught me to play this game to taunt me when I lose?" she asked him, looking upset. Her partner held up his hands in defense, an amused look on his face.

"No, but Hein and Scott caught on a lot quicker." The girl sighed.

"Maybe that's because he and Scott are both strategy hounds..." she muttered under her breath, a frown creasing her features.

"You don't have to be a strategy hound Riana, you just have to… think outside the box." An aggravated Riana threw up her hands.

"What box?" she asked, her voice low. The red head across from her chuckled.

"I don't know, actually. It's an expression I heard. Play you again?" he offered. Riana looked at him incredelously.

"No, thank you."

"Oh come on-"

"You've beaten me the last 3 games we've played."

"I was lucky, or something."

"The first game took 4 moves."

"Extremely lucky, then."

"Elwin…" she growled, displeasure evident in her tone.. He chuckled. It was odd. She didn't get worked up very often, but doing so over a game of chess was rather amusing.

"Fine, I'll go easy on you this time." Riana sighed, than began moving her pieces back into position, wordlessly agreeing to his offer. "Feel like making this interesting?" He asked her suddenly, a mischievous look in his eyes. Riana gave him a look normally reserved for small children. "What? How bad could it be?"

"It depends what you have in mind," she countered. He laughed.

"I'll think of something, don't worry." Elwin said confidently.

"That doesn't sound promising..." she said, moving up her pawn. Elwin merely grinned.

"Just wait," he stated, moving out his knight. Riana sighed, pondering her current situation.

"What if I don't want to do this?" she asked him. Elwin pouted, sending her into giggles, despite her earlier mood.

"That'll take the fun out of this though!" he said pleadingly, like a child would. Riana raised her eyebrows.

"When has this been fun?" she asked, moving another pawn. Elwin shrugged as he moved out his bishop.

"You haven't left," he pointed out. Riana nodded.

"True, but it's better talking to you than to other males – with the exception of those in our group." Elwin looked quizzically at her.

"How so?"

"Mainly when me or Sherry happen to be talking, you look at our faces instead of looking… lower," she said simply. Elwin coughed and lowered his head a little.

"_Can you blame them?"_ he said mentally. Well… he thought he said it in his head, anyway. Riana's face turned bright red and she dropped the piece she was holding. Elwin looked puzzled… then it hit him. "I… just said that that, didn't I?" Riana nodded, still blushing furiously. "Out loud?" he asked weakly. Another nod. "Really?"

"We've established the fact that the comment was made." she said, now looking somewhat embarassed. She then picked up the piece she dropped – her queen – and moved it out. There was pretty much silence between them for the next few minutes, neither one willing to say anything. The only noises were the sounds of the pieces clinking as they hit the board. Finally, Riana moved her rook across from Elwin's king. "Check."

Elwin was relieved… he thought that she would stay silent for the rest of the day. "Okay…" he moved his king away one space diagonally.

"Can I ask you something?" Riana said suddenly. Elwin looked up, surprised.

"Sure," he responded, more than a little uneasy. "What is it?"

"Why did you say it?" This time it was Elwin that dropped the piece, obviously stunned by the question.

"Pardon?" not quite believing he had heard right. She didn't sound angry, just… curious.

"I'm just wondering…" she said, as she moved one of her pieces. Elwin blinked, than moved his king.

"Well… er… you are.. ah…" Elwin was slowly speaking, but he had no clue what he was trying to say. _"I couldn't very well say "look in the mirror" now could I?"_ he thought. Riana was still looking inqusitively at him. His eyes met hers, and he felt his heart skip. "_God, I'm so pathetic…"_ he thought. He looked down, focusing on the game. _"I don't think I could tell you this, but reason I said it is… is…"_ he cursed. He couldn't even finish it off in his head! Riana looked down, and made her own move. She looked up again – only to find Elwin gazing intently at her. She swallowed.

"Elwin?" she asked. "Is anything wrong?" He said nothing, simply content with staring at her. Her face was going red again. "Elwin?…"

"_The reason I said it… is because…" _Elwin smiled at her gently. "You're beautiful…" he murmured. Riana's eyes widened. She was too surprised to even blush this time.

"Wh… what?" she asked, flustered. Elwin shrugged.

"My answer to your question," he said. "You asked, after all..." Riana slowly nodded.

"I… see," she said, still not able to comprehend the current situation. He smirked a little, not really expecting her to respond. She then moved her knight up, taking his bishop, not saying a word. Elwin resisted the urge to laugh a little. "_She's cute when she's flustered. Well… cuter, anyway."_ Elwin moved one of his pawns up, when she spoke.

"You… really think that?" she asked him, keeping her head down. And sure enough, the blush had returned. Elwin reached over and lightly grasped her hand in his. He was elated when he felt her fingers thread through his.

"Yes," he said to her, his tone quiet. "Very much so."

She nodded slightly, than looked down. "Look, we should probably get going soon… we've been here for a few hours already. Kalxath's library really doesn't get that much use, does it?" Elwin murmured, relinquishing the grip on her hand (to Riana's disappointment) and stood up. Riana sighed, scanned the board once more – and stopped dead.

"Elwin? Hold on…" as Elwin looked at her confusedly, she finally saw it. With a triumphant expression on her face, she moved her knight into a postion to take the king. "Checkmate." she said smugly - well, as smug as Riana could be, anyway. Elwin opened his mouth, then stopped.

"Well, I could move…no… take it with… damn!" Riana threw her arms up into the air.

"I finally beat you!" she said happily, a big smile on her face. Elwin smiled at the sight.

"Took you long enough," he said. That earned him an elbow to the stomach. "Just kidding!" he said hastily, seeing Riana's expression. "Anyway, we should get going…" As the two walked toward the door, Riana suddenly snapped her fingers.

"Hey! Remember at the start of the game when you wanted to make this "interesting"?" at Elwin's slow, uncertain nod, she continued. "I have something in mind…" Elwin blinked, nervous.

"What?" he asked warily. Riana pointed over to a wall.

"Stand there," she ordered. As Elwin walked over to the said wall and leaned against it, he wondered what she had in mind-

And got the shock of his life when Riana pressed against him, her arms sliding around his neck. "Um… Riana?" he asked, very aware of the closeness of their faces. "What are you doing?"

"Claiming my prize…" she said. And without another moment, she tilted up and kissed him gently. Elwin was too shocked to really do anything about it, so he let his instincts take over. He felt his own arms slide up and wrap around her slim waist protectively, and he felt her control lessen a bit. That was enough, as he spun her around and reversed their positions, eliciting a gasp from Riana. "Not fair…" she breathed. Elwin smirked.

"Hmm… you can't move, and you can't get me off," he said to her, his mouth scant centimetres from her own - a problem that the blonde was eager to rectify. "Check and mate..." he said, before claiming her lips with his again. Riana held him tightly as their embrace continued. Finally, the liplock broke, both participants flushed.

"You know, if this is the prize to every game we play, I should start losing on purpose…" Elwin noted. Riana leaned against him and nodded.

"Rematch later?" he asked playfully. She smiled.

"Oh, definitely…"

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Author's note: No, Idon't know why I was so focused on chess in this fic. I don't know if chess exists in El Sallia. But… it seemed like a cool premise. Fastest fic I've ever written… only like an hour. Wow. 


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